Walkenhorst machine leads BMW battle with three hours to go at Spa

29 July 2018

The #34 Walkenhorst Motorsport BMW M6 GT3 led the Total 24 Hours with just over three hours left to run, though multiple cars remained in contention to win the race’s 70th edition.

The Walkenhorst machine led away following a full-course yellow, necessitated by a spin into the gravel by the #488 Rinaldi Racing Ferrari, with the #4 Mercedes-AMG Team Black Falcon car running second.

When racing resumed the #4 Mercedes was passed by the #99 ROWE Racing BMW, setting up a battle between the two M6 GT3s at the head of the field. Approaching three hours to go, the gap between this pair was a little over four seconds.

There remained uncertainty over how many times each car still needed to visit the pits during this year’s race. At 21 hours the #34 had stopped 20 times, while the #99 had made 21 trips to the pit lane. The #4 Mercedes and the #25 Audi had both accumulated 19 stops thus far.

The #333 Rinaldi Racing Ferrari topped Pro-Am having taken over from the #42 Strakka Racing Mercedes, which had led its class for several hours.

There was no change in Silver Cup or Am Cup, however. The #12 Ombra Racing Lamborghini remained 30 seconds clear of its nearest challenger in the Silver category, while the #77 Barwell Motorsport Lamborghini held a lead of several laps in the Am class. In Groupe National, the #67 GDL Racing Lamborghini had re-esteablished its advantage over the #70 Speed Lover Porsche.